can it bee that audio research vsi 75 has lack of open highs/mid ?

VSI 75 today… REF 75se in a few years… REF 160s in a few more.

thanks, i will for sure consider it .

@stone1 

My apologies my post should reference Vs I 75 … The advise remains germane 

thanks.
we are not talking about the Ref 75SE, but the integrated vsi 75

@stone1 

Were you to go ahead with purchasing the Ref 75SE I would highly recommend that you replace the pair of factory supplied new production Sovtek 6h30 Pi EB with genuine pre 1990 production Reflector Corp 6h30 DR 

Genuine DR’s have become increasingly hard to find and there are a number of eBay vendors listing new production Sovtek Pi EB as NOS 6h30 DR

They are a little expensive however you only need a pair and they will most certainly audibly out perform the ARC factory pair.

See below an online guide to recognising genuine pre 1990 Reflector plant production 6h30 DR

I would recommend this upgrade to any member running ARC equipment with the stock ARC tubes.

http://www.aca.gr/index/hiend/hiendArticles?row=1988 

thanks.
i am planning an additional listening in the shop, and than make my final decision .

@stone1

Thanks. Helpful information. So, understanding your situation better. The normal recommendation would be to say, find your speakers first. Then work on subsequent components.

After fifty years of improving my audio systems. I am going to tell you my prejudges view. I would buy the VSI75 on faith. It is an incredibly musical integrated amp. While sometimes it is easy to get waylaided by highly detailed trebly forward imaging, the musicality of that amp is truly amazing. That is a world class piece of equipment you can build a truly great system around. Then, I would pick pieces to complement it… definitely an Audio Research Phonostage… you want to hear your TT sound great,

I am prejudice, after pursuing the high end for over fifty years and now owning an all ARC system that amazes me every time listen to it… am sad when I have to do something else.

Buy the way, a fellow audiophile came over recently commented on how great the imaging was on my system. Audio Research is known for that too.

the country is Israel.
usually importers here import from those kind of items just few examples , and sometime only if you order it specially.
have now:
crick audio integrated.
well tempered tt and arm.
monster alpha 2 cartridge.
speakers and phono stage are in a plan to upgrade.
right now kef speakers and SCHIIT MANI phono.
but i would not pay lot of intention to what i have today, since the only thing that will stay is the turntable.
and what i heard in the store was on several speakers and oracle phono stage, TT German turntable( hope i remember the right brand) , don’t know which cartridge.

OP,

That is terrible. What country?

Well from my experience with ARC and lots of audio buddies… open,  natural and detailed is what Audio Research is all about. Unless you are looking for etched clinical, ARC should be it. The VSI75 is perfect. What source are the using… what speakers?

i wish i could do it.
it’s of course the best way.
unfortunately shops here in my country don’t do those things.
so at the end i have to decide either buy it or let it go.

Oh. I get it. Take it home for a week or two. Shops can be terrible places to evaluate… and it is your system that counts. It is a fantastic amp. If I had any possible excuse for another system, I would buy one.

first, i still don’t own this arc, just listened to it in a store.
have now :
crick audio integrated.
well tempered tt and arm.
monster alpha 2 cartridge.
speakers and phono stage are in a plan to upgrade.
right now kef speakers and SCHIIT MANI phono.
but i would not pay lot of intention to what i have today, since the only thing that will stay is the turntable.

Whats the rest of your system including wires and all power conditioning.?

 Best JohnnyR

do you have one, or listen carefully to it?

audio research vsi 75 has lack of open highs/mid ?

is certainly not how I would describe it

thanks.
i asked a friend of mine that is a very experienced technician in audio including tubes.
he said that teflon capacitors are the most reliable and quality caps, and it's isolated very good from heat and resonance.
i just wonder if it's the reason for relatively long time to break in.  

Google "teflon capacitor". They are a type of capacitor that a few high end builders use. They also take a long time to break in. They SOUND weird while they are breaking in. The caps will throw sound in different directions and sound bright, harsh, and in general BAD. 

In a speaker crossover they take even longer 300 hours is not uncommon up to 1000 hours. 

I hook up speakers face to face almost touching. I put blankets over them and play them for 2 weeks in a row, 24 hours a day. I DON'T hook one out of phase. Both in phase at a low volume. I use a Brain 5800 Nelson Pass amp. It's biased on the cool side and made to run 24 hours a day. It had teflon cap installed 15 years ago.

I seldom break in speakers NOW. Up until 5 years ago that 5800 was seldom turned off breaking in speakers over a 25 year period. I bought it as a demo. It has over 150,000 hours on the actual chassis. 

BTW Teflons seldom wear out, EVER. Few caps other than an "orange drop" type cap (ferrous iron) can say that.

Condon Johnson uses the heck out of teflons, so do I for the last 20 years. TNT in particular and good old Russian surplus.. They are not cheap either, even surplus.

Regards

Mine with KT120’s sounds fantastic.  It is paired with Alta Audio I/O speakers.  I have no complaints.

thanks.
what are those teflon caps?
sorry but my english is not perfect.
what do you mean by: "Drive you nuts in speaker crossovers, but they sure sound good after a 24/7/14 face to face (2 whole weeks.)"
that i should leave the amp working constantly for  2weeks?

Dave has it right, about 500 hours to settle in. That is the nature of Teflon caps.

Enjoy the music journey 

Jim

Be patient. Some of these guys are using teflons, 600-1000 hours for sound that last 35+ years, it's worth the wait.

I use teflons in a few valve units, wonky is the word for a bit. Drive you nuts in speaker crossovers, but they sure sound good after a 24/7/14 face to face (2 whole weeks.) THEN listen!

Regards